LAO releases Open Government discussion paper

“The justice system is generally perceived as lagging behind other public services in the dissemination, gathering, sharing and analysis of information and data,” says David Field, president and CEO of Legal Aid Ontario. “For LAO and the justice system, open government offers the potential to improve, and benchmark, our transparency and public participation in order to improve openness and accountability among Ontario’s justice institutions.”

“For LAO and the justice system, Open Government offers the potential to improve, and benchmark, our transparency and public participation in order to improve openness and accountability among Ontario’s justice institutions.”

David Field, president and CEO of Legal Aid Ontario

The government of Ontario has identified “open government” as a key, government-wide, initiative. The three key principles of this initiative include:

Open data: All data needs to be available in a free, accessible, machine readable format

Open information: All information about the operation of government needs to be available to improve transparency and accountability

Open dialogue: Using new methods to engage the public in planning and decision-making

As part of this effort, LAO is co-hosting with the Law Commission of Ontario and the Canadian Forum for Civil Justice an event on “Open Data in the justice system” on Friday April 15. This will provide an opportunity for people within all parts of the justice system in Ontario to discuss the implications, opportunities, and challenges of open government and open data.

The discussion paper is the first part in a consultation process that will begin later in 2016. In anticipation of this process, LAO invites organizations and individuals to provide written submissions at any time to opengovernment@lao.on.ca.

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Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), an independent but publicly funded and publicly accountable non-profit corporation. None of this material may be commercially reproduced, but copying for other purposes, with credit, is encouraged.